Blood of the village
by leona roth
Summary: the kingdom was a utopia there was no crime no murder no sickness but then he came and with him he brought the sickness the crime the murder and in her eyes he also brought a challange.pl ease read and review so i have motivation to update
1. once upon a time

Disclaimers: I do not own teen titans or anything related to anything at all.

Once upon a time nestled deep within the woods beyond the mountains and across the seas there was a magnificent kingdom ruled by a noble king and queen who had sired three daughters all of whom had recently turned the age of marriage the eldest was known to be the most beautiful her long fire red tresses fell across her tan porcelain smooth skin her dark emerald eyes always held joy this young princess could find the joy and light in every situation. She would spend her time among the village her parents ruled over all the villagers loved the princess they would flock around her bearing gifts of all sorts the young men especially adored the princess she would have many suitors in one day her parents having to swat away the other royalty that would flock about their daughter try as they might to secure her hand. The beauty never let this go to her head she was as equally kind hearted as beautiful she loved her family and would do anything to keep them safe.

The youngest daughter was known thru the kingdom for her bravery and strength she was stronger than any of the villagers or the knights she was never ashamed to speak her mind let it be towards a villager or her own parents the young princess was so bold as to wear her hair high above her head in what would appear to be horns she had changed the color as well instead of the charcoal black she was born with the princess now showed off her bubble gum pink style. All of the other royalty within the surrounding areas knew of this odd rebel she was never questioned about her choices though, partly due to fear that she would beat the questioner senseless. Still despite her outward appearance the princess harbored a kind heart she to loved her people along with her family doing anything to protect and keep them safe

The villagers loved their rulers. There was never any other place the villagers could imagine living. The villagers did have one main fear though. They were terrified of the middle child their most excellent rulers had bore. There were rumors of witchcraft and demons that seemed to never be in short supply surrounding this princess. The villagers would all talk of how they suspected that this child now growing woman was forced upon their poor rulers by the evil witch lady that had lived within the mountains long before the kingdom was established. The rumors did not seem to go unjustified do to the fact that this princess had skin pale as the moon her eyes were of the deepest violet matching her hair she kept cut short framing her delicate features she was morbidly beautiful although the entire village feared the princess was her parents gem. She had always shown intelligence and control of her outward emotions. She had never harmed the villagers or anything else so why think she was evil? Because she locked herself away for days with all those …books... reading? She, a female reading? Yes she must be learning the dark witchcraft the villagers feared more than death. It must be true.

The princesses all loved each other. They loved the village and their family all would seem well within their kingdom. They all seemed to be happy as the days rolled by each with their own schedule. This was their utopia no crime no sickness all _was_ well. Until the day came, until he came. With him he seemed to bring the darkness of crime. Sickness soon followed as the villagers soon found themselves loosing prized possessions and other things such as livestock and even entire food market carts. With the prized foods being stolen the peddlers would secretly sell the food they knew was past ripe and already moldy or molding the villagers having no choice would eat the infected meat or produce and fall ill these illnesses soon spread throughout the kingdom catching the attention of the king who ordered the knights to find capture and execute the person or persons responsible for this plaque of looting. And so the hunt was on the game had began.

The thief sat atop the thatched roof of a peasants hut as he bit into a ripe fresh apple the mask he wore pushed up only above his lips as he looked towards the setting sun that threw the shadow of the castle over the village he had stumbled upon in his travels thankfully. He had begun to like it here there was no one after him and stealing from these idiotic oafs was as easy as any thief could hope for he had even secured a small abandoned cottage to use as his temporary home a smirk formed across his features as he threw the apple carelessly into pigs pin it squealed momentarily until it noticed it could eat the apples core satisfied it became quiet once more the thief stood pulling down the white mask with the blood red X across the left eye his own eyes stared intently towards the castle tonight was the night he was going to steal the kings crown. Not because he needed it but because he wanted it that was the key; he had noticed the few officers and knights the king had dispatched throughout the village but now he wanted to show this king who he was up against and what better way to rouse the old man but to take his seal of authority. With that thought the thief jumped from the roof into the night his only sign of being there was the few strands of straw that fell from the roof to the earth below.

The eldest princess made her way down the dark corridor her long pink night gown flowed like snow as she quickened her pace her candle held in front flickered briefly before her delicate hand rose hiding the flame it still burned bright despite the sudden change of pace it managed to light her way past all the doors as she stopped in front of one that had splashes of pinks and purples upon its hard oak. Knocking three times she stepped back waiting. With a gust of air the door swung unnaturally fast inward opening to reveal her youngest sisters form dressed in a black nightgown stopping just below the knees her pink stripped stockings covering what would have been exposed flesh her sister wore an expression mixed of sleep and excitement as she stared back at the emerald eyes that seemed to radiate excitement for what they were going to do. "please tell me sister you are ready yes?" stepping closer the beauty spoke softly in a hushed voice only to receive a tired yawn from the young teenager her usual hair style abandoned at the moment for a less rebleistic version it hanging down her back loosely and over her shoulders the eldest princess wore her fire like hair high in a messy bun only loose strands hung by her ears and the back of her neck. Satisfied with the nod the eldest of the two grabbed her sisters hand pulling her down the hallway slowing some as to not let her candle go out since she had no way of relighting it the pair made their way up the spiral staircase the stairs were cold against their feet so cold their stockings could not keep it from their flesh ignoring it they continued up the stairs the youngest let her fingers trail along the wall since her hand had been released from her sisters grasp. Steeping over the final stair they stood in front of the lone door the youngest stepped forward knocking twice her fist lazily dragged off the heavy oak after the second knock causing her sister to roll her eyes knocking the final time as she did the heavy door opened just a crack revealing the violet eyes and pale features of their middle sister. "yes?" the word rolled off of her tongue monotonously as she looked upon her sisters "well, are you coming or not…" the youngest rubbed her eyes sleep slowly disappearing from her eyes as she herself became more alert and aware

The eldest princess had blown out her only candle accidentally as she had began to speak to her sister frowning she had begun trying to light it with her fingers causing the other two females to look at her with curiosity" what exactly are you doing?" the middle sister asked a hint of humor buried itself within her monotone. The eldest blushed holding the candle behind her back shrugging "nothing sister." She bit her lip embarrassed by her own actions she then looked to the youngest and back to the middle sister" please reply yes to our request my sweet sister" her emerald eyes that held her excitement seemed to betray a hopeful glint as she looked upon her sisters violet eyes. With a heavy sigh the princess nodded" yes I will come with you both if only to make sure you stay out of trouble." Both sisters seemed to glow with happiness as the middle sisters hands were captured by her other siblings each had a firm grip she allowed herself to be pulled and escorted down the long spiral staircase only to reach the bottom did they release the grip they had on her hands

Making their way down the now black corridor due to the useless candle being disposed of they all walked in silence knowing their destination they could easily maneuver around the dark corridor the youngest of the three reached out grabbing the middle sisters left hand within her right as thoughts of sleep returned to her she need not fall into the stone floor that would harshly welcome her face the violet eyes of the middle sister kept looking straight as she noticed a faint light towards the end of the corridor as she noticed this she ran into the back of her eldest sister causing her to stumble she felt herself being caught as her youngest sister pulled her up before the unforgiving stone could catch her all three sisters stared at the faint light coming from the throne room abandoning their destination plans for earlier the three sisters all seemed to share a curiosity the middle sister straightened herself as they all made their way towards the main room of their luxiourious castle the eldest led the way as they came to the entrance each sister had to hold back a gasp as a dead and bleeding knight was thrown against the column the three girls had been standing beside dropping to their knees the three girls watched as a masked figure slaughtered the other two guards silently as it seemed to make its way like a shadow to the back of the throne room were there stood to pedestals each had a luxiourious pillow embroidered with designs and gems that any jeweler would be ecstatic to posses and on these pillows sat the two crowns that belonged to none other than the king and queen behind the two pedestals stood three more on all rested a pillow of different color one pink one black and one purple and on these pillows rested three different crowns all styled the same but bared a different jewel in the center the middle sister had to cover her youngest sisters mouth as she began to say something not wanting that masked killer to turn and slaughter them they all remained frozen in fear so the thought of her sister speaking out loud be it quiet or loud made the middle sisters stomach do flips as fear poured throughout her form she could even swear she could feel it flow from her sisters as well as the masked figure had reached the tallest pedestal its hands slipped around their fathers, the kings crown picking it up the masked killer seemed to marvel at its design and its quality the figure slipped the crown in what appeared to be a bag each sisters eyes were glued on this figure as they remained hidden behind the pillar and entrance to the thrown room as the masked thief turned the middle sisters eyes widened as fear and realization swept thru her there is only one way in and out of the throne room unless he planned on breaking a window and waking the entire kingdom this killer was going to walk right into her and her sisters summoning all the courage she could manage the middle sister grabbed the hands of her siblings pulling hard as she did they all rose and ran as fast and as quietly as they all could down the long pitch black corridor all three held hands as the middle princess felt a wet drop hit her cheek she realized her eldest sister was crying the three ran and ran and did not stop until reaching the top of the middle sisters staircase running into her room they shut the heavy oak door hard locking it from the inside the middle sister turned to see her sisters huddled together the eldest had tears streaming from her now horrified emerald eyes the youngest held her sister close cooing and muttering soft soothing nothings trying to get the beauty to calm down

"What do we do now?" she looked to the middle sister her eyes set hard and her usual careless and brave face betrayed her anger and disgust towards their home invader "we sleep." Was all she could manage to say to her younger sister her eldest had stopped sobbing for the moment and remained cuddled on her youngest sibling they both laid down on their sisters bed the youngest watched as her middle sister made her way to the solitary window that adorned her bedroom wall "and you'll figure something out right rae?" rae nodded as she crossed her arms looking down upon the castles rose garden that housed more than a dozen colored roses thousands in total. The eldest of the sisters had fallen asleep cuddled against the youngest. "good." The confidence in the young girls voice was amazing due to the fact that she put so much trust into her sisters Rae looked over to her siblings both were now asleep on her bed with a sigh she returned her gaze to the rose garden below and for a second she could have swore she saw the mask of the thief looking back to her his white skull with the blood red X..

The morning came and Rae found herself alone sitting beside her window she must have fallen asleep staring out of it as her mind raced for ideas to their current predicament her violet gaze drifted to her bed as she stood expecting to see her sisters she didn't guessing they had woken up before her she stretched her arms above her head then behind her as she stepped to her vanity she gazed in the mirror and back gazed her reflection thoughts on what to do about the things that were now etched into her mind like the scent of the iron that was the blood of the fallen knight the thought of watching his lifeless body slump to heap watching as that fiend stole her fathers property and worse of all that mask was now part of her memory forever. A hard knock on her door made her jump as the voice spoke out "princess your father and mother have summoned you to the throne room" she tried to place the harsh voice with the list of faces in her memory of her servants but she couldn't the voice rang out again expecting a reply"prin-" it was cut short by her reply"im on my way" her voice left her in its usual monotone not betraying her annoyance at his interruption of her thoughts "very good" she heard the footsteps begin their way down the staircase that led to her room there was fifty stairs in total she had counted on her way down and up them several times in her nineteen years in this castle she had always had the room in the top tower not as punishment but because she wanted it her parents thought it was due to her reclusive nature but it was actually for the roses she loved the roses especially during the summer they would bloom full and it would be like looking into a rainbow the scents would fill her room and she would feel free. Free of all her troubles such as the entire village hating her the fact that she could not be as beautiful as her sisters and she was the only one of them that had not been courted yet with a sigh the princess stood stepping over to the closet that itself could have been a room shedding the nightgown of violet she had worn the night before her eyes widened to see that blood from the fallen knight had stained her gown just above the knee she threw it far from her it hit the wall with almost an inaudible thud as it slid down the stone wall landing on the floor she shuddered as she hugged herself now only in her undergarments she pulled a dark blue gown from it hanger it was lavished in small dark gems along the waist line the top of the gown was a fitted corset that she expertly tied herself after years of doing this alone she had mastered the art a little thing she took some pleasure in knowing that neither of her sisters could manage this task alone she fluffed out the bottom of the dress it fanned only slightly since she wasn't for the large bottoms like her eldest sister was the train on her gown was dark blue and faded into a very subtle violet that matched her eyes pulling on her stockings she bit her lip noticing her skin now seemed to be a pale grey she shook her head clearing away those thoughts as she pulled on her shoes lacing up the flat sandals she could easily hide under the long gown she hated wearing the big heels that her youngest sister seemed to wear with everything she ran her fingers thru her short hair as it all fell in place she looked over herself in the vanity's mirror as she turned leaving the room

As she stepped into the throne room she made a point not to look to the grounds entrance scared she may see a stain of blood from the slaughtered knight she stepped lightly up the elegant dark red carpet that led from her fathers and mothers thrones to the entrance and exit of the large room she noticed her siblings standing before her father and mother both dresses in their extravagant dresses they looked to her as she stepped up beside them both the servants that had lined the entrance all kept their gaze to the floor knowing the threat of execution was upon them now that the king was in the worst state of mind "my daughters I regret to inform you that your father has been stolen from" as he spoke he held the hand of his queen his loving gaze towards his children had only the hint of rage that he was feeling towards the thief show the queen looked to her children her eyes filled with hurt as she sighed hearing her loves voice tinted with emotions normally absent

None of the girls met their fathers gazed as he began to speak and tell of how the crime at hand. The eldest looked up as her father mentioned the thief that had been plaguing their kingdom like a disease that they could not cure as her gaze met her fathers her lower lip quivered as she began to weep once more falling to her knees she caused the middle child to catch her as she wept her father rose quickly his voice booming with rage assuming someone had hurt his daughter" speak my child what causes you this ache!" the eldest princess seemed to gasp for air between her long weeps this caused the youngest of the three to answer her father "we saw the scum father…' she went into telling the story from start to finish the middle child once again seemed to feel the guilt that radiated from the youngest princess as she spoke by the end of her retelling of the nights events she began to weep falling on the shoulder of the middle princess who along with her mother held both of her siblings allowing them to cry against her the kings eyes grew cold and hard as he looked to his only child left not weeping" is this true my daughter?" the princess nodded in answer to his question as she looked to the ground unable to meet her fathers furious gaze his fist clenched as he looked to his right hand servant "this thief will be killed send out the knights post the flyers let the village know!" as he spoke his voice escalated booming throughout the room causing several servants to shudder "let it be known that whoever brings me the head of this thief will be rewarded beyond their wildest dreams!" the king took a step forward as he pointed to a servant by the pillars" make sure this killer knows that this game of his will soon end in his blood"


	2. bad luck

Disclaimer: I do not own teen titans or anything that has anything to do with them…

The eldest princess sat upon her balcony her chin rested in the palm of her hand as she looked over the village she adored. Her mind was wandering about from that night that had been the worst night of her life to the morning after she had to face her father and let him know that she had been witness to the slaughter of his most trusted knights. She had been so overcome with emotion every time she thought of it she felt the need to weep seeing those men slaughtered with no remorse made her stomach churn she had never seen death before she had never even seen her own pets die let alone see a human slain like cattle. A soft sigh escaped her as she sat up straight she turned facing her rooms entrance, her chambers were the second biggest within the castle her parents being the largest, her emerald gaze swept slowly across her belongings as she looked from her large pink and white vanity to the large four poster bed with a flowing pink canopy that caught the autumn breeze she leaned back against the railing her fire like tresses blew about her face the wind wanting to take them towards the east ever so gently her eyes closed as her head leaned back the princess enjoyed the feel of the wind she always had the want to fly. She would fly and fly and never stop she would embrace the freedom never worry about looks she could fly away from all these men that swarmed her like bees she could fly away from the duties of being the eldest and expecting the crown. Oh to have that joy of flight! With a heavy sigh the princess pushed away from the banister as she stepped lightly into her room her long gown fluffed out from her hips the train dragging the cold stone of her floor creating a soft swishing sound as she made her way to her door. They would be serving dinner soon and it was mandatory all the family eat together and she did enjoy that as she stepped out of the chamber closing the door she almost turned around as her peripheral vision picked up what looked like shadow of a figure seeming to fall across the stone floor from her balcony dismissing the thought the princess hurried down the corridor so not be late for dinner.

As he heard the heavy oak door close he pulled himself up on her balcony cursing quietly as he was about to jump back down thinking the princess was going to turn around and catch him in her chambers. Oh what a mess that would have been,but he thanked whatever god was looking over him as she continued to pull the door shut and her heard her footsteps fade down the long corridor. He jumped down onto the stone floor his boots made a audible click as he made his way to her vanity knowing she would have priceless jewels he popped open the jewelry box that played some tune he was unfamiliar with he pulled strands of diamonds and gold chains from the box apraising them he then slipped the most worthy ones within the bag that he had the night before stuffed the kings crown in. he was only stealing from this princess to pay for the food he would need this month he knew all to well of some forest dwellers that would pay an arm or leg for anything this nice they could sell and earn money for as the theif turned her took in the rest of the eldest princess room it was all …pink. His face scrunched as he realized how bright this room must be in the daylight shaking his head he buried the thought as he made his way back over to the banister sitting upon it like an owl he looked over the village that he would soon be ruler of . Patting the bag filled with her things he hopped over the banister only to disappear within the night.

Her violet eyes looked up as she spotted her eldest sister coming into the dinning hall. She sat across from her youngest sister who was once again wearing her hair high in the horned fashion she was so used to seeing. She imagined herself with longer hair and for a moment seriously contemplated on the thought. As her eldest sister sat down beside her their mother and father entered the hall her father sat at the north end of the table her mother the opposite. Clearing his throat a servant eneterd announcing the first course as her gaze fell to the soup that still seemed to boil be placed in front of her she couldn't help but notice the green tint the servants face had she then looked to her youngest sister who was staring mouth agape at the green looking servant before the middle child had a chance to stop her the youngest bust out laughing obnoxiously "whats the matter green bean are you serving us your family!" holding her stomach the youngest girl laughed harder causing the eldest to release a held in giggle the middle sister knew her oldest sister did not get the joke but meerly wanted to be included. The servants features gave off his hurt feelings as he looked to his king to be dismissed. The king with a wave of his hand did just that as he looked to his daughter a harsh tone engulfed his words" jenny! How dare you be so rude that young man has never been but loyal!" jennys face seemed to harden as she let her gaze drop to her lap shame seemed to poor from her the middle sister rubbed her temples trying not to feel what she could swear was her sisters shame. Her mothers voice stern but still retaining the sweet tone she always had towards her daughters rang out "and kori why would you,future queen, want to laugh at something so cruel?" her mothers question made koris eyes drop to her soup as she took a spoonful eating it gracefully if only to avoid her mothers questions.

The meal progressed on from first course to second course to the final dessert this time a large black servant brought them their food it was chocolate pie laced with strawberries. The family ate in silence some more sloppy than others,the middle child noticed how her youngest sister had the chocolate smeared all about her face her violet eyes looked to her mother as she delicately ate the chocolate concoction as her mother returned her gaze she quickly looked to her right to see her eldest sister picking at her fruits the chocolate remaining untouched as she was pondering the reasons for this her fathers booming voice interrupted her thoughts "I shall be joining the hunt for the disease come morrows dawn" the statement seemed to hang about the air that filled the great room the middle child felt as if she could simply stand a pull the words from the air. The cling of metal to china grabbed the attention as all eyes turned to the youngest of them"why father?" her voice was loud and demanding of answers "well my darling so I can kill that bastard for his intrusion on my home and the theft of my property" the pink haired girl stood quickly her gaze was strong and would have left any ordinary man cowering and fleeing her wrath but her father sat there in his large chair matching the intensity of his youngest daughters stare"he will kill you! , I saw him kill the three strongest knights with one hit! Father you are old and you will surely fall to his will! You speak of killing and justice but father you are the one that shall be killed and then who will go forth to justify this! Mother perhaps or sister!" as she yelled her left arm swept across the table motioning to the eldest sibling then to her mother and as her arm swept to her mothers side of the table the gauntlet she had been drinking from spilled dripping the dark orange contents onto the tables white lace cloth an down to the stone floor several servants were hesitant to come and clean the princesses mess waiting for the severity of her wrath to have been dealt and even more horrified at what their king was going to return. As the king looked to his princess a smirk spread across his parted lips as the smirk spread it developed then into a laugh as the kings left hand rested against his stomach the laugh grew causing the other princess along with the queen to look from one to the other while the youngest still stood with her mouth set like stone her gaze still hard and unrelenting she awaited her fathers reply"child!" his voice boomed like the sounds of cannons as he rose from his seat his height caused his sire to back step as she craned her neck to look to him"do you wish to go after the thief yourself? You act like you are a lion among sheep the bravest of the brave you act like your strength can prove you invincible against any opponent!" he took a step towards her causing his wife and other children to tense all the servants had left the hall for fear of enticing the wrath of either the young woman or the king himself . "you speack of my age and you think im weak! But you do not think of the strategys I have learned in my age you do not think I am cunning?" he now stood merely a step apart from his daughter as his cannon like voice quieted his hands rested upon her shoulders"child, do now and do not speak of me in such ways, you do not understand the ways I have learned and I fear if you do not go now you will not live to learn" with that said the king gave a shove pushing his pink haired daughter towards the doors to the hall she stumbled but regained her compsure quickly exiting the great room. The king turned to face his family the anger at his daughters embarrassment leaked from him and the eldest child sat her emerald gaze filled with confusion as she looked to her father the middle child felt her head throb as she thought for the second time that day she could feel the anger her father was letting roll from his self the queen stood then speaking softly and calmly"alright girls go to your chambers. Now." At her request the middle child stood along with her sister and exited the hall as they did the sound of their mothers voice was cut short by a sound of flesh hitting flesh causing the girls to hurry down the corridor. Not saying anything to each other the eldest departed entering her chamber as her emerald eyes watched her sister make her way up the spiral staircase and out of sight

"who the hell does he think he is!" the pink haired princess shoved peasent clothes into a small traveling bag her large extravagant gown laid crumpled to the side as she pulled on a peasants dress its browns and greens contrasting with her hair she growled as she pulled on a milk maids bonnet to cover the thing she was most known for she kicked the door to her closet causing the wood to splinter as she knelt picking a box from the back of the closet she seethed with rage towards her father he dare challenge her? Of course she could catch that pathetic thief . that's all he was, just a pathetic thief who happened to be a bit identity conscious nothing she couldn't thought back to the strong knights that had been slain by his hand but that was no great accomplishment she had beaten knights twice that size and plus maybe those three gaurds just happened to have a bit of bad luck that day. She pulled on the the peasant shoes that had been a gift from a cobblers family since she had convinced her parents to let the husband keep his hand after a crooked deal with the king. She looked to her large wall mirror that showed back someone who she could not recognize as herself she indeed looked like a common villager a evil grin spread across her lips as she slung the small bag over her shoulder she had even stuffed it with some of the jewls she kept deep in her closet the rare blood diamond she herself had stolen from her violet haired sisters jelwery box that was sure to attract a thief. She pulled open the heavy door looking down both ends of the hall way before she stepped out making her way down the left wing she kept quiet for her to get out of this castle she was going to have to fool all the servants and maybe even her own blood if it came down to it. She rounded a corner walking past the iconic throne room only to notice that the pedastool that was ment for a kings crown sat unnaturally bare she bit her bottom lip as she made her way down the last hall way she would need to get out of the castle itself . the unmistakeable pounding of knights boots against the stone met her ears as she caught her breath in her throat she saw three armed knights headed her way she lowerd her gaze as she continued forward past the knights they parted allowing her to exit her heart accelerated as she thought she was the luckiest girl alive but then a hard metal hand clamped down on her right shoulder causing her to yelp"halt!" she cursed the gods that were responsible for this bad luck of hers,she then turned to face the knight her bonnet hid her face well but she was certain that if he got a good look at her he would know "state your business maid" she snuck a look at his armor protected face as his hand let off of her shoulder she felt as if a ten pound weight was lifted she coughed clearing her throat as she tried to mask her voice"the princess has sent me to collect jewels for her new accessories" with a grunt the knights seemed to accept that answer turning they continued on only when she knew they were out of sight did she finally breathe once more. As she turned to continue into the village she spoke quietly to herself "I hope everyone is as dumb as that metal head"

AN/

So sorry this chapter is short but I had the sudden urge to write it up after thinking about the luck of these princesses I hope you like it and I hope you continue to read and review if you want

-leona


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